In a stunning, contentious, argumentative press conference at Trump Tower Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump stunningly equivocated Nazi, White Supremacist, Neo-Confederate, and Ku Klux Klan agitators in the so-called “alt-right” who descended on the peaceful community of Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, with the counter protesters who defended the community against them. This despite the fact that the “Unite the Right” rally ended in a domestic terrorist attack carried out by one of the Nazi agitators.

In his confrontational presser, Mr. Trump equated George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, with Robert E. Lee, on the grounds that both Founding Fathers were slave owners. This assertion blindly ignores the historic fact that Mr. Washington and Mr. Jefferson, the first and second Presidents of these United States, respectively, each served before the Civil War, and worked to free men from the yoke of tyranny and establish the beginnings of a free nation – rather than leading the defenders of slavery and the dehumanization of their fellow human beings into battle, as Robert E. Lee infamously did.

President Trump asserted that both sides shared the blame for the violence which took place in Charlottesville over this prior weekend. This regardless of the fact that it was the “alt-right” forces who planned and executed the racist rally, who arrived on Friday bearing torches, hurling the most vile kinds of racial epithets and insults, and chanting the slogans of the most evil enemies the United States ever faced, the Nazis. This regardless, likewise, of the fact that the “alt-right” forces, the union of various right wing hate groups such as the domestic terror group the KKK, the “3 percenters”, the neo-confederates, and the neo-nazis, arrived boldly displaying almost every symbol of hate known to man, and in many cases dressed in fascist uniforms, and body armor, and brandishing weapons, including automatic rifles.

These weapons did not go unused, and indeed one young African American man was beaten nearly to death by a group of neo-nazis. And, tragically, one woman was killed, and 35 others were wounded (19 seriously) when a car was used as a weapon in what can only rationally be called a terrorist attack by a domestic Nazi.

Yes, as President Trump insisted, there were some weapons brought to the scene by counter-protesters. Baseball bats, improvised paint can blow-torches, clubs, all were seen. Mostly from Antifa, an aggressive anti-fascist group which is known to be willing to meet violence with violence. But to add some historic context here: the same can be said of the Minute Men who stood against the British as this nation was born.

Mr. Trump’s argument, essentially, boils down to this… Blame not only, or even principally, the forces of evil which staged an armed invasion of the peaceful city of Charlottesville, Virginia. Blame not only, or even primarily, those evil people who sought to terrorize, and intimidate the people of Charlottesvile and provoke them with the most abhorrent assault of hatred they could muster. Blame not only, or even mostly, those who sought to terrorize also all the people of America watching in horror. Mr Trump says blame also those who rose to the city’s defense, and indeed to America’s defense, from this onslaught of evil.

Indeed, Mr. Trump’s argument even said that among the forces of evil that descended on the beautiful city of Charlottesville this past weekend, were many “very fine people”. As stunning statement, when you are talking about people marching shoulder to shoulder, bearing torches, as a regiment, with Nazis, and Terrorists.

How Mr. Trump can thing any “fine people” would join that march, is beyond most – as evidenced by the swift, fierce backlash from all but the darkest corners of American life – even many of the President’s political allies.

Edward Lynn is a photographer, a graphic and web designer, a writer, an activist, a son, a brother, and a parent, just trying to do some good in the world we all have to live in. More posts by Edward Lynn.